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Under Hagrid's expectant, wide-eyed gaze, Godric flapped his massive wings violently, kicking up a miniature snowstorm, and soared high into the crisp winter air. The eagle circled the yard twice, then let out a string of loud, piercing cries, almost as if he were enthusiastically psyching himself up for the challenge.
His mate, Regina, stood comfortably on a nearby fence post, tilting her majestic head and leisurely calling back a few times. Her soft cries sounded suspiciously like she was egging him on.
Ah, comfortably watching her own boyfriend make a massive scene, not afraid of it getting entirely out of hand. (¯︶¯)
"Godric says he can confidently try," Regulus sensed the golden eagle's eager attitude through their connection. He turned and nodded to Hagrid. "He's ready for you."
Hagrid grinned broadly. He reached out and picked up one of the blunted wooden swords, casually weighing it in his massive hand. A normal-sized training sword looked exactly like a fragile toddler's toy clutched in his thick fingers. He hesitated for a brief moment, then simply tossed the wooden sword back onto the snow pile.
"I won't be needin' this," he said simply, rolling up his massive moleskin sleeves. He walked confidently into the golden circle and waved enthusiastically at Godric high in the sky. "Don't worry, Godric! I won't fight back, just come at me with all yer might!"
Regulus, meanwhile, watched carefully and silently. He had always been deeply, analytically curious about the exact limits of Hagrid's "magic and physical dual-resistant" half-giant skin and incredibly sturdy physique. This was a perfect tactical stress test.
"Start!" Regulus's arm swung down sharply.
One second, ten seconds, twenty seconds...
Godric circled cautiously in the freezing air, his sharp eyes locked on the target, actively looking for a structural vulnerability. The golden circle on the snowy ground looked exactly like a designated combat arena in his predatory eyes.
And Hagrid stood steadily in the absolute center of the "range," looking exactly like a breathing, immovable hill, responding to all changes with pure, unshakable stillness.
Neither of them took the initiative to launch the first attack.
Thirty-four seconds, thirty-five seconds, thirty-six seconds—
At exactly the thirty-seventh second, Godric suddenly folded his wings and violently swooped down like a golden missile, aiming directly for the vulnerable top of Hagrid's messy head!
"Here he comes!" Evie Frye couldn't help but exclaim in a low, tense voice, her assassin instincts analyzing the strike vector.
Hagrid was quick-witted despite his size. He immediately raised his thick, tree-trunk-like arm to protect his head and face.
Godric's incredibly sharp talons violently kicked against Hagrid's bare forearm with a soft, tearing hiss, instantly ripping through the thick fabric of his sleeve. Yet, Hagrid didn't even flinch. His brow didn't furrow, and his massive arm didn't budge a single millimeter from the impact!
This man and this eagle—were undeniably operating in entirely different physical weight classes.
Godric, however, did not admit defeat there. He banked sharply, ascended back into the sky, and began to prepare for a second, highly unconventional round of attack.
"Goo!"
The golden eagle suddenly executed a tight loop in the air directly above the half-giant, and then—
Drip—drop—splat!
White "bird dropping bombs" were accurately, ruthlessly dropped from high altitude!
"Ah! Hagrid, look out!" Jacob shouted a frantic reminder, pointing up.
A massive white splat instantly appeared directly on the torn sleeve Hagrid had just used to protect his head. The half-giant was stunned for a moment. He raised his arm, looking at the mess in sheer confusion, then looked up at the sky. For a brief second, he genuinely thought it was an odd clump of snow falling from the high treetops.
However, this specific wave of biological attack was far from over.
With Godric's rapid, calculated circling, white bird droppings began raining down from the sky like a small, highly targeted shower, threatening to cover the entire golden circle.
"I surrender! I surrender!" Hagrid yelled, quickly taking a massive, desperate leap entirely out of the combat boundary.
Splat, splat, splat—
The exact moment Hagrid stepped out of the circle, the white bird droppings fell evenly across the circular ground, perfectly blending into the pristine white snow.
The entire yard was dead silent for a single, stunned second, and then uproarious laughter erupted like a volcano:
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
"Godric, you—you're too bloody cunning!!" James laughed so hard he fell backward off his wooden stool, rolling in the snow, constantly slapping his legs and groaning with mirth.
"Physical attacks didn't work against the armor, so you smoothly switched to 'chemical warfare', right?!" Severus was laughing so hard actual tears were forming in his dark eyes, a rare, beautiful sight.
"Hagrid, you're physically too strong!" Mary said, clutching her stomach and wiping away tears of laughter. "But Godric is also really something—this is practically a coordinated air raid tactic!"
"Heh heh..." Hagrid awkwardly shook his massive sleeve, trying to flick off the mess, and said with a simple, sheepish expression. "Suppose next time I need ter bring me pink umbrella..."
Regulus held his forehead with both hands, unable to stifle his own laughter. How on earth did he actively raise such a shameless golden eagle? Well... logically speaking, it's absolutely all the system's "Falcon Harassment" skill's fault.
He quickly drew his wand and used Scourgify to destroy the embarrassing evidence on the snow and Hagrid's sleeve.
Heh heh.
The Little Wizards and the gentle half-giant continued laughing together, the sound echoing warmly against the edge of the dark forest.
...
Just as the Little Wizards were catching their breath and taking a break, a magnificent, large snowy owl glided gracefully down from the cabin roof, its pristine white wings glistening beautifully in the winter sunlight.
Uncle Alphonse's owl landed lightly in the snow directly in front of Regulus, lifting its leg to present a rather heavy, surprisingly compact package.
Taking off the package and untying the twine to look closely, Regulus's aristocratic eyebrows twitched upwards, revealing a deeply satisfied, calculating smile.
"Uncle Al's Valentine's Day gift is finally here!" he announced, raising the small package. He peeled back the brown paper, revealing a thick, heavy stack of handkerchief-sized, neatly arranged leather squares of various colors and rough textures inside.
"Wait, isn't this—" The Little Wizards hadn't even fully reacted yet, but Hagrid was almost excited to the point of physically fainting. The half-giant walked over incredibly quickly, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Dragon hide!?"
( ˉ︶ˉ )
"Yes," Regulus grinned, handing the heavy package directly to the wide-eyed Hagrid. "He managed to source several different kinds from the reserves."
The Little Wizards quickly formed a tight, curious circle around Hagrid's massive hands.
"Blimey... this here is the hide of a Hebridean Black Dragon. Incredibly rare!" Hagrid reverently held up a piece of pitch-black, deeply rough scale, introducing the dangerous materials like precious, priceless treasures.
"This dark black-green piece is Romanian Longhorn hide... tough as steel, that is..."
"Oh! This gorgeous silver-blue one is Swedish Short-Snout Dragon hide. Heh heh, it's really beautiful, ain't it? Especially suitable fer making high-end dueling gloves and defensive shields..."
"There's even a small, thick piece of a Ukrainian Ironbelly's belly hide..." Hagrid carefully held up a shiny, metallic gray scale, looking at it deeply infatuated in the bright sunlight. "Tsk tsk, Al is really generous ter send this much!"
Beside him, Lily and the other girls were already carefully holding the shimmering Swedish Short-Snout Dragon hide in their hands, passing the heavy material around. The Little Witches were all physically touching real Dragon hide for the very first time, and their eyes were full of absolute wonder.
"But Regulus—" Hagrid asked, finally tearing his gaze away from the scales, his thick brow furrowing doubtfully. "Why exactly did Al send you all these? Do yeh want ter use 'em to tailor some new defensive gear for the group?"
Regulus chuckled darkly, his inner CEO taking over. "Dragon hide is known to be extremely defensive; it can even naturally deflect most minor spells. So, I specifically contacted Uncle Al to help collect a diverse sample. I want to use them—to conduct some highly specific combat experiments!"
He smoothly waved his hawthorn wand. Six heavy, cylindrical stones that Hagrid had previously used to build the low courtyard wall flew steadily through the air and landed with heavy thuds inside the golden training circle.
"I've had this tactical idea for a long time. Inspired by the Muggle 'Mohs hardness' test Evie explained to me, I want to officially start a new, long-term experimental project—"
"The Spell Penetration Test!"
Saying this, Regulus confidently walked forward and used a strong Sticking Charm to firmly fix the six different pieces of Dragon hide onto the flat sides of the stone pillars facing them.
"My testing methodology is simple. First, to cast various offensive spells directly onto the Dragon hide. Second, the ultimate tactical goal is to physically break the solid stone pillar through the Dragon hide's natural resistance!"
Looking at the stunned, wide-eyed Little Wizards and Hagrid standing in front of him, Regulus blinked, his mind running complex damage calculations.
Since the ultimate, endgame goal is to successfully grind the Basilisk boss for loot, how can we not actively study the magical resistance of dark creatures and develop specific ways to break through their natural defenses in advance?
After all—one must strictly adhere to the tactical philosophy of not fighting unprepared battles, not fighting battles without statistical confidence. In every violent conflict, one should strive to be heavily prepared and strive to guarantee victory based on the rigorous comparison of conditions between the enemy's armor and our own firepower.
If you genuinely want to win, you have to analytically listen to the Muggle strategist Sun Tzu's advice!
Without a live Basilisk conveniently available to experiment on, using premium Dragon hide as a baseline testing sample was the next best option!
Although he didn't logically know whether a Basilisk's hide was magically stronger than a Dragon's hide, a mere snake monster couldn't possibly be tougher than all existing species of Dragons, right?
And as for the werewolf Fenrir Greyback—his fleshy skin was definitely not as tough as Dragon hide. A successful penetration spell would shred him.
He looked intensely at the stone pillars with Dragon scales attached, and the terrifying image of the Basilisk's glowing yellow vertical pupils appeared clearly in his mind. Originally, he had tactically considered attacking the beast's eyes with a powerful Blinding Spell. But after hearing what Professor Slughorn had mentioned in the dungeon, he immediately changed his mind.
Basilisk eyes are incredibly precious, legendary alchemical materials. Wouldn't it be an absolute wasted trip down to the Chamber if he accidentally destroyed them before harvesting?
"I know this specific curriculum sounds a bit beyond the standard Hogwarts syllabus..." Regulus held the remaining piece of shimmering Swedish Short-Snout Dragon hide to his chest. He looked intently at the talented, loyal Little Wizards standing in front of him, a group of brilliant minds who possessed unlimited potential. "But—"
"The magical world is incredibly vast. Our journey shouldn't be confined to simple exams. Our journey should be among Dragons and legends!"
Everyone's eyes lit up with a burning, Gryffindor-esque fire.
Regulus smiled slightly, drawing his wand.
"How about it? Want to break some scales together?"